A numerical study of mechanical behavior of a cement paste under mechanical loading and chemical leaching

Based on relevant experimental data of a petroleum cement paste under mechanical loading and chemical leaching, an elastic‐plastic model is first proposed by taking into account plastic shearing and pore collapse. The degradation of mechanical properties induced by the chemical leaching is characterized by a chemical damage variable which is defined as the increase of porosity. Both elastic and plastic properties of the cement paste are affected by the chemical damage. The proposed model is calibrated from and applied to describe mechanical responses in triaxial compression tests respectively on sound and fully leached samples. In the second part, a phenomenological chemical model is defined to establish the relationship between porosity change and calcium dissolution process. The dissolution kinetics is governed by a diffusion law taking into account the variation of diffusion coefficient with calcium concentration. The chemical model is coupled with the mechanical model, and both are applied to describe mechanical response of cement paste samples subjected to progressive chemical leaching and compressive stresses. Comparisons between experimental data and numerical results are presented.     

On the dependence of the saturated hydraulic conductivity upon the effective porosity through a power law model at different scales

We study the scale dependence of the saturated hydraulic conductivity K_s through the effective porosity n_e by means of a newly developed power‐law model (PLM) which allows to use simultaneously measurements at different scales. The model is expressed as product between a single PLM (capturing the impact of the dominating scale) and a characteristic function κ^? accounting for the correction because of the other scale(s). The simple (closed form) expression of the κ^?‐function enables one to easily identify the scales which are relevant for K_s. The proposed model is then applied to a set of real data taken at the experimental site of Montalto Uffugo (Italy), and we show that in this case two (i.e. laboratory and field) scales appear to be the main ones. The implications toward an important application (solute transport) in Hydrology are finally discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Alteration of hydrological processes and streamflow with juniper (Juniperus virginiana) encroachment in a mesic grassland catchment

To understand the effect of woody plant encroachment on hydrological processes of mesic grasslands, we quantified infiltration capacity in situ, the temporal changes in soil water storage, and streamflow of a grassland catchment and a catchment heavily encroached by juniper (Juniperus virginiana, eastern redcedar) in previously cultivated, non‐karst substrate grasslands in north‐central Oklahoma for 3 years. The initial and steady‐state infiltration rates under the juniper canopy were nearly triple to that of the grassland catchment and were intermediate in the intercanopy spaces within the encroached catchment. Soil water content and soil water storage on the encroached catchment were generally lower than on the grassland catchment, especially when preceding the seasons of peak rainfall in spring and fall. Frequency and magnitude of streamflow events were reduced in the encroached catchment. Annual runoff coefficients for the encroached catchment averaged 2.1%, in contrast to 10.6% for the grassland catchment. Annual streamflow duration ranged from 80 to 250 h for the encroached catchment compared with 600 to 800 h for the grassland catchment. Our results showed that the encroachment of juniper into previously cultivated mesic grasslands fundamentally alters catchment hydrological function. Rapid transformation of mesic grassland to a woodland state with juniper encroachment, if not confined, has the potential to drastically reduce soil water, streamflow and flow duration of ephemeral streams in the Southern Great Plains. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How preferential flow delivers pre‐event groundwater rapidly to streams

Groundwater often accounts for a substantial fraction of flood hydrographs, but the processes responsible for this have been unclear. However, many aquifers have preferential flow and this explains how aquifers can be so responsive. In bedrock aquifers, weathering enhances the connectivity and apertures along the most efficient flow paths and hence enhances the permeability. This results in celerities and velocities of the preferential flow in these dual‐porosity aquifers that are two to three orders of magnitude higher than if the aquifers behaved as single‐porosity media. The celerities have been determined from artificial and natural flood pulses, from tidal lags, and from pumping tests. Preferential‐flow velocities have been calculated from tests using applied tracers. Celerities in bedrock aquifers are typically one to two orders of magnitude faster than velocities. The ubiquitous preferential flow in aquifers provides an additional explanation, besides groundwater ridging, for the rapid release of groundwater to streams during storm events.     

Micromechanical approach to swelling behavior of capillary-porous media with coupled physics

A detailed multiscale analysis is presented of the swelling phenomenon in unsaturated clay-rich materials in the linear regime through homogenization. Herein, the structural complexity of the material is formulated as a three-scale, triple porosity medium within which microstructural information is transmitted across the various scales, leading ultimately to an enriched stress-deformation relation at the macroscopic scale. As a side note, such derived relationship leads to a tensorial stress partitioning that is reminiscent of a Terzaghi-like effective stress measure. Otherwise, a major result that stands out from previous works is the explicit expression of swelling stress and capillary stress in terms of micromechanical interactions at the very fine scale down to the clay platelet level, along with capillary stress emerging due to interactions between fluid phases at the different scales, including surface tension, pore size, and morphology. More importantly, the swelling stress is correlated with the disjoining forces due to electrochemical effects of charged ions on clay minerals and van der Waals forces at the nanoscale. The resulting analytical expressions also elucidate the role of the various physics in the deformational behavior of clayey material. Finally, the capability of the proposed formulation in capturing salient behaviors of unsaturated expansive clays is illustrated through some numerical examples.     

Constitutive modelling of fine-grained gassy soil: A composite approach

Fine-grained marine sediments containing large undissolved gas bubbles are widely distributed around the world. Presence of the bubbles could degrade the undrained shear strength (s_u ) of the soil, when the gas pressure u_g is relatively high as compared with the effective stress in the saturated soil matrix. Meanwhile, the addition of bubbles may also increase s_u when the difference between u_g and pore water pressure u_w becomes smaller than the water entry value, causing partial water drainage from the saturated matrix into the bubbles (bubble flooding) during globally undrained shearing. A new constitutive model for describing the two competing effects on the stress-strain relationship of fine-grained gassy soil is proposed within the framework of critical state soil mechanics. The gassy soil is considered as a three-phase composite material with compressible cavities, which allows water entry from the saturated matrix. Bubble flooding is modelled by introducing an additional positive volumetric strain increment of the saturated clay matrix, which is dependent on the difference between pore gas and pore water pressure based on experimental observations. A modified hardening law based on that of the modified Cam clay model is employed, which in conjunction with the expression for bubble flooding, can describe both the detrimental and beneficial effects of gas bubbles on soil strength and plastic hardening in shear. Only two extra parameters in addition to those in the modified Cam clay model are used. It is shown that the key features of the stress-strain relationship of three fine-grained gassy soils can be reproduced satisfactorily.     

Cracking risk of partially saturated porous media—Part I: Microporoelasticity model

Drying of deformable porous media results in their shrinkage, and it may cause cracking provided that shrinkage deformations are hindered by kinematic constraints. This is the motivation to develop a thermodynamics‐based microporoelasticity model for the assessment of cracking risk in partially saturated porous geomaterials. The study refers to 3D representative volume elements of porous media, including a two‐scale double‐porosity material with a pore network comprising (at the mesoscale) 3D mesocracks in the form of oblate spheroids, and (at the microscale) spherical micropores of different sizes. Surface tensions prevailing in all interfaces between solid, liquid, and gaseous matters are taken into account. To establish a thermodynamics‐based crack propagation criterion for a two‐scale double‐porosity material, the potential energy of the solid is derived, accounting—in particular—for mesocrack geometry changes (main original contribution) and for effective micropore pressures, which depend (due to surface tensions) on the pore radius. Differentiating the potential energy with respect to crack density parameter yields the thermodynamical driving force for crack propagation, which is shown to be governed by an effective macrostrain. It is found that drying‐related stresses in partially saturated mesocracks reduce the cracking risk. The drying‐related effective underpressures in spherical micropores, in turn, result in a tensile eigenstress of the matrix in which the mesocracks are embedded. This way, micropores increase the mesocracking risk. Model application to the assessment of cracking risk during drying of argillite is the topic of the companion paper (Part II). Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

伊通盆地鹿乡断陷C区块含油饱和度与含油性分析

综合研究伊通盆地鹿乡断陷双二段储层的岩性、含油性和含油饱和度,确定了适用于本区的含油饱和度计算方法,并与实际含油性进行了对比,分析了沉积和构造对含油性的影响。研究区双二段含油储层的岩性以粉砂岩、细砂岩和砂砾岩为主,含油级别为荧光级以上。根据阿尔奇公式计算出的含油饱和度大部分与实际的含油性相符合,并将含油饱和度70%、50%和38%值作为本区气层、油层、油水层和水层的区分标准。本区储层的含油性受到沉积和构造两方面的控制,沉积作用主要控制储层的岩石结构和物性,构造控制油气的聚集,即在构造高部位,实际含油饱和度比计算结果要高,而在构造低部位,实际含油饱和度比计算结果要低。     

日照市河谷平原区成井方法对比研究

在分析日照河谷平原区水文地质条件的基础上,通过大量抽水试验数据,对比分析研究了当地民井与本次施工水井成井方法的差异,指出了当地民井在成井方法上的不足和缺陷,并提出了适宜该区的成井方法建议。     

西藏拉萨地体西北部革吉地区两期早白垩世岩浆作用——锆石U-Pb年龄、Hf同位素和地球化学特征

邦巴岩体位于拉萨地块西部革吉地区,由主体花岗岩、花岗闪长岩、闪长质包体及一系列近平行、南北向展布的花岗斑岩脉体组成。野外地质调查和LA-MC-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb定年表明,革吉地区白垩纪的两期岩浆活动分别发生在131~132Ma和127Ma。早期岩浆作用形成主体花岗岩、花岗闪长岩及闪长质包体,具有以下特征:(1)明显富集K、Cs等大离子亲石元素,亏损Nb、Ti、Zr等高场强元素;(2)具有明显的负Eu异常(Eu/Eu*=0.49~0.61)及负Ce异常;(3)具负εHf(t)值(-3.2~-0.3)及古老的地壳模式年龄(1.210~1.399Ga);(4)初始Sr同位素比值为0.70424~0.71472,εHf(t)值为-5.70~-5.54。晚期岩浆作用形成花岗斑岩脉体,具有以下特征:(1)富集K、Cs等大离子亲石元素,强烈亏损Nb、Ta、Ti等高场强元素;(2)基本不具有负Eu异常或具有轻微的负Eu异常(Eu/Eu*=0.74~0.87);(3)具有更老的Hf同位素地壳模式年龄(1.226~1.576Ga)及更负的大范围变化的εHf(t)值(-6.1~-0.7)。晚期岩浆作用锆饱和温度(777~796℃)及轻稀土元素不饱和温度(794~812℃)均高于早期岩浆的锆饱和温度(661~762℃)及轻稀土元素不饱和温度(750~769℃)。上述特征表明,两期岩浆作用均为中拉萨地块古老基底部分与地幔物质混染部分熔融的产物,随着岩浆作用的持续进行,岩浆中的古老地壳组分增加,熔体温度也增加,可能与南向俯冲的班公-怒江洋壳回转驱动的地幔岩浆活动向北迁移有关。